Pears and candied ginger make a harmonious duo, even more so when they are wrapped in a fragrant, airy chocolate batter turned delicious ginger muffins. Prepared in no time at all and certainly something for even the most die-hard ginger skeptics.

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Gingery, chocolatey, sweet delicious muffins with gooey, melty pieces of pears - how does that sound?

Right. I know candied ginger is not everyone's cup of tea.

BUT: I'm going to tell you a story. It's a good one. It's one about sweet friends and sweet treats; about sweet ginger conundrums and happy light bulb moments.

And it begins with ....

A full disclosure: Candied ginger is not MY cup of tea.

It's like, boom! Intense ginger flavor explodes in my mouth like a party popper filled with fire. Sugar coating? Doesn't help. Fancy chocolate dip? Still a fiery party. Think chili pepper in a tuxedo – all dressed up but still packing a punch!

Now, don't get me wrong - I love ginger! Fresh ginger in tea (with peppermint)? Yum! Spicy kick in a curry? Vegan fish curry, here I come!

But candied ginger? Nah, that's a bridge too far for my taste buds.

And now the kicker: my friends seem to think I'm head over heels for candied/crystallized ginger (w/o or with choc coating). So, what do I do when I keep getting gifted these spicy treats?

Do I return them? Not my style.

Toss them? Waste not, want not (too much food is being wasted, anyway).

Regift 'em? Well, easier said than done when you don't know anyone else who's into candied ginger.

Then, inspiration struck! What if I could TRANSFORM this candied ginger into something ... amazing?

Something that would take that intense ginger flavor and turn it into a delightful whisper? Something like… fluffy chocolate muffins!?

Inside ginger muffins with chocolate and pears

A quick internet search (because who doesn't love a good internet rabbit hole?) revealed that pears and candied ginger are BFFs in the baking world.

So, in went the chopped pears and – you guessed it – the chopped candied ginger! A lil' chopping, mixing, baking ... and voila! Twelve beautiful, fragrant muffins emerged from the oven.

And the star of the show? Surprise! Surprise! ... The candied ginger! (pls tell my friends - more candied ginger incoming)

It adds this unexpected little zing, a hint of complexity that makes these muffins anything but ordinary. Leave it out, and you have good ol' chocolate pear muffins. Add it in, and you'll get exquisite melt-in-your-mouth masterpieces!

So, friends: I LOVE candied ginger… chopped up teeny tiny and baked into chocolate pear muffins!

Now, who wants a muffin?

🍽 Recipe

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Ginger Muffins With Pears & Chocolate

Pears and candied ginger make a harmonious duo, even more so when wrapped in a fragrant, airy chocolate batter turned into delicious ginger muffins. Prepared in no time at all and certainly something for even the most die-hard ginger skeptics.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Course: Dessert

Keyword: quick, treat, vegan

Servings: muffins

Ingredients

Metric - US Customary

▢ 60 g candied ginger coated in dark chocolate* alternatively 30 g dark chocolate (1.1 oz) and 30 g candied ginger (1.1 oz)
▢ 200 g all-purpose wheat or spelt flour
▢ 50 g cocoa
▢ 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder
▢ 150 g sugar
▢ 2 medium ripe bananas
▢ 2 ripe pears
▢ 250 ml vegetable milk e.g. oat milk, or water
▢ 70 ml neutral oil e.g. rapeseed oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175° C (350° F) top and bottom heat.
Finely chop the ginger (also the dark chocolate, if you use chocolate and candied ginger separately).
Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, cocoa, baking powder, sugar).
Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork until you have turned them into a paste.
Wash the pears, quarter them, remove the cores, and dice the pear quarters.
Mix the dry ingredients with the milk, the oil, and the mashed bananas.
Fold ginger and pear pieces into the batter and mix well.
Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin wrappers and divide the batter evenly between the 12 wrappers.
Bake the muffins for 20 minutes on the middle rack.
Leave to cool before indulging.

Notes

You can find candied ginger also under "crystallized ginger".

So, what's your verdict: Would you try these?

Wishing planty of gingery, chocolatey muffin delights,
Ramona

P.S. ... you'll love these adorable Hazelnut Muffins With Raspberries; also, find out why Marry Me Recipe Titles Suck.

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